The Right to (Digital) Identity

Authors

Sarah M. Snow

Abstract

Identity verification is a prerequisite for full participation in modern society. Access to financial services, employment, housing, healthcare, education, and civic engagement all hinge on an individual’s ability to prove their identity. Millions of Americans—particularly marginalized groups—struggle with the rigid, bureaucratic, and often discriminatory processes of traditional identity verification systems. Without legally recognized identification, individuals are effectively excluded from economic and civic life. This Note argues that the ability to prove one’s identity is a protected interest. It proposes adoption of a federal Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) as a legal and technological mechanism to guarantee all Americans have access to a legally recognizable identity.

Unlike traditional identity verification systems, which rely on centralized databases controlled by governments or corporations, the SSI blockchain-based framework distributes and encrypts data so that sensitive personal information is virtually immune to large-scale cyber attacks and inadvertent disclosures.

In its comprehensive analysis, this Note demonstrates that the need for secure, inclusive access to a legally recognizable identity is not only necessary to combat systemic inequity, but also to safe-guard the exercise of fundamental rights.

Recommended Citation

Sarah M. Snow, The Right to (Digital) Identity, 35 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 1010 (2025).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/iplj/vol35/iss4/3